aire's dump

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Soooo, I have seen a lot of people comparing the way that Bruce replaced Dick with Jason versus the way that Dick replaced Tim with Damian. (This happened some on my Batfam Replacement Montage post [x], which is what first brought it to my attention.) For some reason, a lot of people come out of this comparison thinking that Dick was not only just as bad and insensitive as Bruce (if they even think Bruce was in the wrong at all that is) but even that Dick is somehow worse. This legitimately confused the heck out of me. I don’t know if people are reading the same comics as me (though honestly with all the retcons and nonsense going on maybe we aren’t reading the same comics), so I’m just going to break each replacement down for you here and maybe you’ll see where I’m coming from when I think that is completely out of left field. 

Let’s start with Bruce. These panels have Dick (as Nightwing) recounting how things between him and Bruce went down (I’ve rewritten the text just below the image if it is blurry): 

Batman #416 

So while I was still laid up in bed, you dropped the bad news on me. No ifs, ands, or buts…I wasn’t to play Robin anymore. You couldn’t continue to assume the responsibility for a child fighting crime. For six years you trained me to be a crimefighter, then denied me that role. Of course, you assured me that it was for my own good. I lay there with a bandaged shoulder and my life in ruins. You smiled. Kicked a great big hole in my life, then walked out of the room. 

Following an encounter with the Joker, Dick is shot in the shoulder and nearly dies. Instead of comforting Dick, Bruce decides to follow up this traumatic event by firing Dick from Robin immediately. Bruce calls Dick a child, disregarding all the time Dick spent training to become Robin and Dick’s own agency, and basically attempts to kick him out of crimefighting all together. This may not be clear because of the image quality, but Dick literally starts crying in that last panel. But it doesn’t stop there: 

I don’t see what option I had, other than to split. Alfred tried to talk me out of it. It was Alfred who forced money on me so I’d have something to live on. You couldn’t even be bothered to say goodbye. 

Despite his concern for Dick being the motivating factor behind the firing, Bruce doesn’t even seem to be aware that Dick is leaving, and so Alfred is the one that tries to convince Dick to stay in Bruce’s stead. And where is Bruce during all this you may ask??

Sorry, he was busy working on a case at the time. And people wonder why Dick didn’t realize Bruce was doing this out of concern rather than distrust of his capabilities. Anyway, Dick leaves, eventually joins the Titans, and becomes Nightwing. Eighteen whole months pass–a freaking year and a half–and not once does Bruce try to get in touch with Dick to sort things out. Then, Dick finds out about his replacement in the newspaper: 

Bruce fired Dick because he didn’t want a child sidekick. Then he goes out and gets a freaking child sidekick, and, even better, makes him Robin. Robin isn’t just a costume to Dick. In many comics, Dick refers to the Robin role as meaning family, and that’s because Dick specifically crafted Robin as a way to remember his parents. 

Robin Annual #4 and The Titans #16

It doesn’t get much more personal than using your dead mother’s nickname for you and your family’s colors (which across comics are pretty consistently some combo of yellow/green/red) as your hero persona. And Bruce, despite knowing the origins of the costume, felt like he could do whatever he wanted with it. And he didn’t even have the decency to be upfront about it. You can see why this drives me crazy. He spends the rest of the issue beating around the bush and not telling Dick why he adopted Jason and made him Robin, and, in the end, he once again kicks Dick out of the house. Nice parenting Bruce. 

Now with Dick. I’ve seen some people accuse Dick of not talking to Tim and just pulling the Robin mantle right out from under him, but that isn’t really what the comics show us: 

Red Robin #1

Dick tries to talk to Tim about it, and, unlike Bruce, he explicitly states his reasons for giving Damian Robin. He validates Tim, and tells him that they are equals. Even when Tim lashes out, Dick makes it clear that he still wants Tim around, even if it is not as Robin. And, once again unlike Bruce, Dick doesn’t proceed to just abandon Tim when things don’t go his way. He sends Tim’s friends his way and when that doesn’t work, Dick goes to find Tim and try to talk things out in person: 

Red Robin #4

So why doesn’t Tim just tell Dick his theory? That’s because, as much as people apparently want to believe that Tim had the whole thing figured out and it was everyone else’s fault that no one was listening, Tim had no actual evidence whatsoever that Bruce was actually alive. He was kind of in denial about Bruce’s death and all he had was a weak hunch.

Tim rides off without giving any explanations, leaving Dick to deal with all the fallout of Bruce’s “death” by himself. Dick had to abandon everything that he built (Nightwing, his various superhero teams, etc.) in order to take up Bruce’s identity. He had to deal with being Batman, running Wayne Enterprises, and raising Damian (a murderous brat who spent literally all his time insulting and undermining him in those early days), all while managing his own grief. And he had no one but Alfred for support. So maybe he didn’t handle Tim as well as he could have (I don’t really know what he could have done differently but hey if you want to let me know feel free), but I honestly think that under the circumstances he tried his freaking best, which is more than Bruce did for him. And when Tim returns, he immediately expects Dick to put everything on hold to help him, once again without explanation, and what does Dick do?

Red Robin #11

He trusts Tim and puts everything on hold to help Tim out. Even though Tim pretty much left him high and dry when he needed help the most. So yeah, I don’t see where people are coming from when they act like Dick somehow singlehandedly destroyed his relationship with Tim. I don’t understand how Tim could possibly trust Jason (ie the person who very nearly murdered him) more than he trusts Dick (ie the person who mentored and acted as a confidant to him for literal years) in such a short span of time.

[SS] Yuri's Bed

Two swatches

Functional - Large dog bed

Find by searching [SS]

My boy is getting old and stinky (like his bed) so in celebration of my birthday, a gift from me to you, I made his bed for all your sim fur babies to snuggle in. Enjoy ♡

Because every time I bring up abuse and Tim’s parents someone misunderstands me and gets pissy, I will state upfront and for the record: Jack Drake is abusive, and it doesn’t have to be physical abuse to be abuse. I’m also, like, 85% sure Jack wasn’t intended to be physically abusive in the comics. He is, regardless, incredibly emotionally abusive. 

With that out of the way, I want to talk about the potential for Jack to be a physical abuser because there’s just… a few… weird scenes. And I wanna talk about them, because they live rent free in my brain.

Discussion under the cut, because some of the comic images of Jack acting violently are potentially triggering for some people. So like… trigger warning for child abuse.

Riddler: Batman?

Batman!Dick: Yes?

Riddler: Who the fuck is this?

Batman!Dick: This is Robin.

Riddler: Obviously. But he’s different. He’s all scowly. Where’s the fun one, who likes my riddles?

Batman!Dick: He’s taking some PTO. Can we get on with this?

Riddler: No.

Batman!Dick: What? Why not!

Riddler: Well I would but it wouldn’t be very fair. See the riddles I had for tonight were kind of specific to a couple of past games me and the other one had done.

Batman!Dick: What you never did that for me when I was Robin-

Riddler: Yes well it just wasn’t as fun with you.

Batman!Dick: So what, are you going to just let the hostages go?

Riddler: Well I guess. I’ll have to come up with something different, we can reschedule.

Batman!Dick: So what, do we just take you back to Arkham or-

Except the Riddler.

He knows Tim!Robin. Those two have bonded over riddles and logic and the general idiocy of most people today. Riddler knows that Tim!Robin would die before giving up Robin.

And so Riddler begins investigating and he asks Catwoman because obviously, and then he goes to Red Hood because more obviously -- he didn't go to Hood first because the guy is liable to shoot first and answer never.

Is he going with Hood? Solo? Ivy and Harley? Mr Freeze, who also appreciates a more intellectual Robin? Haven't made up my mind yet, but I'm thinking about Ra's al Ghul v Riddler now and damnit I want this now

I want a Riddler who's deliberately holding back in Gotham to allow his riddles to get centre stage but now is out for blood in a villain v villain fight to get Tim back from the League. Maybe an AU where Tim sends the info on Bruce back but doesn't manage to escape, but no one notices except the Riddler who is throwing down for HIS ROBIN DAMNIT

These conversations always seem to omit stuff to paint a certain picture. To imply Jackie's total innocence and goodness, because shes been unfairly reinvented in death by Shauna and the others (and she has! but that doesn't change the reality that she wasnt all good and kind).

Jackie was kind, she cared about the team. She was hard-working. She wanted the best for people. She gave Shauna the last of her food. She was kind to Misty where others weren't. They didn't tell her about the Allie plan, because they knew she wouldn't allow it. But she also let her insecurities make her cruel at times. She targets Nat in her jealousy, when Nats done nothing to her. She's dismissive of Shauna and lies to her, even if its not malicious. Her treatment of Travis is also pretty questionable.

Likewise, Shauna is kind. She's the first to offer comfort to those she believe needs it. Javi, Jackie, Tai, Lottie, Mari, etc. Its a long list. But there's also cruelty, because, whatever her reasons, she did something that she knew could deeply hurt the person she cared about most. She prioritised whatever it was sleeping with Jeff offered, over Jackie. Not just once, but multiple times.

You don't have to percieve Jackie as all good, just because she in some way stands in opposition to what Shauna's become. Jackie wasn't perfect, thats the point. The facade of perfection was a lie, and (as we see in the pilot) maintaining it weighed heavily on her. She was equal parts good and bad, like they all were in the beginning, and frankly i question the need to pretend she was more innately good than any of the rest of them. That was not what made Jackie singular. What made her different, was her not being afraid to stand in opposition to the new status quo. To openly reject the wilderness. To question it.

full length comment i am responding to found under this post!

Here's why I don't believe Red Robin offers more compelling stories to Tim's character than Robin;

I totally get the feeling of Red Robin being an “unfinished song,” but I’d actually argue that’s part of the problem with it — not just that it stopped too soon, but that the direction it was going in didn’t serve Tim as a character long-term. It wasn’t a natural evolution; it was a reactionary patch to a narrative hole left by editorial shifts, and while it gave him some solo space, it also started to fracture the core of who Tim was.

Red Robin, as a mantle, leaned harder into making Tim “Batman Jr.” than Robin ever did, but without the stability of Bruce, Dick, or a real team. It pushed Tim into increasingly grim territory, doubling down on trauma, paranoia, and obsession in a way that edged away from what made Tim unique — his emotional intelligence, his compassion, and his belief in people. Instead of evolving, his identity started unraveling.

It’s not just that DC threw everything in a blender after Red Robin — Red Robin was the beginning of that blend. The shift from a clever, morally-driven detective to a rogue solo act willing to manipulate others and act outside the Bat-family was less “growth” and more erosion. It was Tim losing parts of himself without narrative support to rebuild. So when the reboot hit, there wasn’t a solid identity to anchor him back to — hence the hollow, unrecognizable Tim we’ve had in more recent iterations.

Focusing too heavily on Red Robin as the defining Tim era risks canonizing a version of him that was already falling apart — not by design, but by neglect. It gives weight to a direction that DC never truly committed to and ultimately abandoned. That’s why, even though YJ98 Robin, 90s Robin, and TT Tim all offer a strong foundation, Red Robin doesn’t quite belong in the same category. It feels substantial because of the aesthetics and angst, but narratively, it’s brittle.

And yeah — the two Robins thing just makes it worse. It undercuts both Tim and Damian because it refuses to resolve the tension that should exist between them, which was central to Red Robin’s arc. By erasing that, they erase the stakes of that transition, so even Red Robin becomes contextless. At this point, “Robin” might be a temporary title, but Red Robin is the ghost of a transition that never landed.

fave exes lol

(just 2 exes turned pseudo siblings rizzing everyone up)

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Okay but not only does Tim go to Ives’ birthday party. But he also buttons his shirt up and tucks it in to meet his family.

I present to you:

Tim at school vs. Tim at birthday party